Switchgear with Modular Bus Configuration Supporting Individual and Parallel Feed Arrangements

ABSTRACT

An apparatus includes a housing, a first plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters in the housing and a second plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters in the housing. The apparatus also includes a first bus assembly in the housing and coupled to the first plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters, and a second bus assembly in the housing and coupled to the second plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters. The apparatus further includes at least one connector configured to interconnect the first bus assembly and the second bus assembly.

BACKGROUND

The inventive subject matter relates to electrical apparatus and, more particularly, to switchgear.

In typical gas-insulated switchgear (GIS), certain components that are prone to arc generation are placed in closed structures filled with an insulating high-dielectric gas, such as sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆). The insulation properties of the gas allow reduced spacing between components and thus enable relatively compact arrangement of the switchgear components. While high-voltage (e.g., 50 kV and above) switchgear is commonly gas-insulated, medium-voltage circuit breakers and other medium-voltage devices may also utilize gas insulated switching components to provide compact form factors for particular industrial and other applications.

A conventional GIS unit may include a housing having one or more gas containments compartments therein filled with insulating gas (e.g., SF₆). Circuit interrupters, buses and other components may be housed in the one or more gas containment compartments. Lower voltage control circuitry and mechanisms for operating the circuit interrupters may be housed in one or more control compartments, which may not be filled with insulating gas.

In a typical application, a number of such GIS units may be arranged in a row to provide medium-voltage power distribution to other industrial devices, such as motor drives. The footprint available for such GIS units may be limited and/or expensive, and installation of the GIS units may be difficult and/or expensive due to constraints on the arrangement of feeder buses and other structures that interface with the GIS units. Accordingly, there is an ongoing need for switchgear designs that provide a smaller footprint and may be easier and less expensive to install.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Some embodiments of the inventive subject matter provide an apparatus including a housing, a first plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters in the housing and a second plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters in the housing. The apparatus also includes a first bus assembly in the housing and coupled to the first plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters and a second bus assembly in the housing and coupled to the second plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters. The apparatus further includes at least one connector configured to interconnect the first bus assembly and the second bus assembly.

In some embodiments, the first and second bus assemblies may be gas insulated. The first bus assembly may be disposed in a first gas containment compartment and the second bus assembly may be disposed in a second gas containment compartment. The at least one connector may include at least one first sealed connector at a wall of the first gas containment compartment and at least one second sealed connector at a wall of the second gas containment compartment. The at least one first sealed connector and the at least one second sealed connector may be configured to be coupled via at least one coupling plug. In some embodiments, the first plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters may be disposed in the first gas containment compartment and the second plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters may be disposed in the second gas containment compartment. In further embodiments, the first plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters may be disposed in a third gas containment compartment and the second plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters may be disposed in a fourth gas containment compartment.

In some embodiments, the first and second bus assemblies may be disposed between the first and second pluralities of circuit interrupters. The first plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters may be disposed above the second plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters in the housing.

Some embodiments provide an apparatus including a housing, a first gas containment compartment in the housing, a first plurality of sealed connectors at a wall of the first gas containment compartment, a second gas containment compartment in the housing adjacent the first gas containment compartment and having a wall confronting the wall of the first gas containment compartment, and a second plurality of sealed connectors at the wall of the second gas containment compartment and configured to be pluggably connected to the first plurality of sealed connectors. The apparatus further includes a first circuit interrupter assembly in the housing, a second circuit interrupter assembly in the housing, a first bus assembly in the first gas containment compartment coupling the first circuit interrupter assembly to the first plurality of sealed connectors, and a second bus assembly in the second gas containment compartment and coupling the second circuit interrupter assembly to the second plurality of sealed connectors.

Still further embodiments of the inventive subject matter provide and apparatus including a housing, a gas-insulated switchgear module disposed in the housing and including at least one electrical component, a first bus module coupled to the gas-insulated switchgear module and a second bus module coupled to the first bus module. The bus modules may be gas-insulated and may support parallel bus connection to the gas-insulated switchgear module.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a two-high circuit interrupter switchgear unit according to some embodiments of the inventive subject matter.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a two-high circuit interrupter switchgear unit according to further embodiments of the inventive subject matter.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are schematic diagrams illustrating gas containment compartment arrangements for a two-high circuit interrupter switchgear unit according to further embodiments.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are cross-sectional views of a circuit interrupter switchgear unit according to further embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates a sealed connector arrangement for use in the embodiments of FIGS. 3-5.

FIGS. 7-9 are schematic diagrams of circuit configurations that may be supported by the embodiments of FIGS. 2-6.

FIGS. 10 and 11 are schematic diagrams illustrating modular bus connections for switchgear or other apparatus according to further embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Specific exemplary embodiments of the inventive subject matter now will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. This inventive subject matter may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the inventive subject matter to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like items. It will be understood that when an item is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another item, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other item or intervening items may be present. As used herein the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the inventive subject matter. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “comprises,” “including” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, items, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, items, components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this inventive subject matter belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

As used herein and in keeping with terminology commonly used in the electrical switchgear industry, “gas-insulated” refers to insulation using a relatively high dielectric gas (e.g., a pure gas or gas mixture) that has a controlled composition that provides enhanced insulation with respect to, for example, air with an uncontrolled composition. The insulation gas used in a gas-insulated switchgear component may include, for example, a high-dielectric halogenated gas, such as sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) and/or alternatives thereto, such as fluorinated gas (e.g., fluoroketone-based) mixtures. It will be appreciated that the composition of such an insulation gas may be maintained, for example, by containment of the insulation gas within a sealed compartment and/or control of the gas composition using an active control system.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a switchgear unit 100 according to some embodiments of the inventive subject matter. The switchgear unit 100 includes a housing 105, which may be, for example, a generally rectangular cabinet-like metal enclosure. The housing 105 houses first and second gas-insulated circuit interrupter assemblies 110 in a vertically stacked arrangement. Respective buses 111 are coupled to respective ones of the first and second gas-insulated circuit interrupter assemblies 110, and may be used, for example, to connect the first and second gas-insulated circuit interrupter assemblies 110 to loads or sources via, for example, cables. The first and second gas-insulated circuit interrupter assemblies 110 may be fed from a common source or separately fed from separate sources. It will be appreciated that the first and second gas-insulated circuit interrupter assemblies may be three-phase assemblies.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a switchgear unit 200 according to further embodiments of the inventive subject matter. The switchgear unit 200 includes a housing 205, which houses first and second gas-insulated circuit interrupter assemblies 210 in a vertically stacked arrangement. First and second bus assemblies 220 are disposed between the first and second gas-insulated circuit interrupter assemblies 210 and are configured to couple respective ones of the first and second gas-insulated circuit interrupter assemblies 210 to one or more buses 221, which may be connected, for example, to respective sources or loads or to a common source or load. Respective buses 211 are coupled to respective ones of the first and second gas-insulated circuit interrupter assemblies 210, and may be used to connect the first and second gas-insulated circuit interrupter assemblies 210 to sources or loads via, for example, cables. In some embodiments, the first and second bus assemblies 220 may be interconnected to parallel source inputs to the first and second gas-insulated circuit interrupter assemblies 210. This can provide advantages, such as increased ampacity and flexibility in arrangement of buses, as explained in detail below.

The first and second bus assemblies 220 may be three-phase bus arrangements, and the gas-insulated circuit interrupter assemblies 210 may each include, for example, multiple circuit interrupters (e.g., one for each phase). The gas-insulated circuit interrupter assemblies 210 and the bus assemblies 220 may further include various additional components, including, but not limited to voltage transducers, current transducers, disconnect switches, actuator mechanisms, and the like.

FIG. 3 illustrates a switchgear unit 300 according to further embodiments. The switchgear unit 300 includes a housing 305, which houses first and second gas containment compartments 340 disposed in a vertically stacked arrangement. A circuit interrupter assembly 310 and a bus assembly 320 electrically connected thereto are disposed within each of the gas containment compartments 340. The circuit interrupter assemblies 310 may include, for example, vacuum circuit interrupters. The bus assemblies 320 are configured to be coupled to sources or loads via buses 321 and may be interconnected by sealed connectors 322 located at walls of the gas containment compartments 340. The sealed connectors 322 may have any of a number of different configurations. For example, the sealed connectors 322 may be female-type sealed connectors that are interconnected using cable plugs as discussed below with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, or the connectors 322 may be configured as male and female counterparts configured to be interconnected without the use of an intervening coupler. A cabling compartment 330 may adjoin the first and second gas containment compartments 340, and respective ones of the circuit interrupter assemblies 310 may be connected to cables in the cabling compartment via respective buses 311 that extend into the cabling compartment 330. The gas containment compartments 340 may be filled with SF₆ or another dielectric gas, thus providing gas insulation of the components within the compartments 340.

FIG. 4 illustrates a switchgear unit 400 with an alternative configuration according to further embodiments. The switchgear unit 400 includes a housing 405, which houses first and second gas containment compartments 442. The first and second gas containment compartments 442 contain circuit interrupter assemblies 410. The circuit interrupter assemblies 410 may include, for example, vacuum circuit interrupters and/or other types of circuit interruption devices. First and second bus assemblies 420 are electrically coupled to the circuit interrupter assemblies 410 and contained in adjoining third and fourth gas containment compartments 444. The first and second bus assemblies 420 may be interconnected by sealed connectors 422 at walls of the third and fourth gas containment compartments 444, and each of the first and second circuit interrupter assemblies 410 may be connected to a corresponding one of the first and second bus assemblies 420 via sealed connectors 414, 424 at adjoining walls of the gas containment compartments. The bus assemblies 420 are configured to respective buses 421, and respective ones of the circuit interrupter assemblies 410 may be connected to cables in an adjoining cabling compartment 430 via respective buses 411.

It will be appreciated that the structures shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 may be implemented in a modular fashion. For example, referring to FIG. 3, the gas containment compartments 340 and components therein may be fabricated as modules that are configured to be installed in the housing 305. In some embodiments, such modules may be specifically configured for use as the upper and lower modules. In some embodiments, a common module configuration may be used for both upper and lower units. Referring to FIG. 4, the first, second, third and fourth gas containment compartments 442, 444 and components therein may be similarly configured as modules.

FIGS. 5A is a side cutaway views of an exemplary arrangement for a switchgear unit that uses a modular bus and circuit interrupter arrangement according to some embodiments, and FIG. 5B is a cutaway view of the arrangement of FIG. 5A along a perpendicular plane indicated by a line B-B in FIG. 5A. First and second circuit interrupter assemblies 510 are disposed in first and second gas containment compartments 542. The circuit interrupter assemblies 510 each include a plurality of circuit interrupters 512. The circuit interrupters 512 are coupled to respective bus assemblies 520 contained with third and fourth gas containment compartments 544 that are disposed between the first and second gas containment compartments 542. Buses 560 are coupled to the circuit interrupters 512 and extend into a cabling compartment 530. As shown, the buses 560 may be arranged such that cable entry and connections may be offset.

Buses of the bus assemblies 520 are connected to buses 550, and can be interconnected via sealed connectors 522 using coupling plugs. In particular, as shown in FIG. 6, sealed connectors 522 may be conical-profile receptacles that can be interconnected using cable plugs 523 that are configured to be inserted into each of the sealed connectors 522 to provide an electrical interconnection. Examples of such connectors and cable plugs include, for example, those used in the FUNK bus bar coupling system distributed by Pfisterer Holding AG and described at http://catalogue.pfisterer.com/en/connections-6-52-kv/other-connectors/busbar-coupling-system-flink/. Similar connector arrangements may be used for interconnection of the circuit interrupter assemblies 510 to the bus assemblies 520. In further embodiments, other connector configurations may be used to join the various gas-insulated components together, such as connector arrangements in which male and female counterpart connectors may be provided on respective gas-insulated units to be joined, such as between the circuit interrupter assemblies 510 and the bus assemblies 520.

Arrangements along the lines illustrated in FIGS. 3-5 can support a variety of bus arrangements. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, bus assemblies 220 along the lines discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 may be separately connected to sources or loads by respective separate buses 221. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8, the bus assemblies 220 may be interconnected to allow for connection to a common source or load. In a third configuration shown in FIG. 9, the bus assemblies 220 may be coupled to respective buses 221, but interconnected to, for example, provide increased ampacity by paralleling the buses 221.

According to further embodiments, a modular bus approach along the lines described above may be applicable beyond the dual circuit breaker arrangements discussed above. As shown in FIG. 10, for example, a switchgear module 610, e.g., an assembly including circuit interrupters, disconnect switches, and/or other switchgear components, may be configured to be coupled to one or more bus assembly modules 620. The bus assembly modules 620 may be interconnected to provide a flexible and scalable bus structure along the lines discussed above. In this manner, for example, a desired bus capacity and/or conductor arrangement may be provided that is tailored to a particular application.

In some embodiments, such modular components may be gas-insulated and interconnected along the lines discussed above. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 11, a GIS assembly 710 (e.g., an assembly including circuit interrupters and/or other switchgear components therein) may be contained in a gas containment compartment 742 to provide a module. One or more bus assemblies 720 may be contained in respective separate gas containment compartments 744 to provide bus assembly modules that may be interconnected and electrically coupled to the module containing the GIS assembly 710.

In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed exemplary embodiments of the inventive subject matter. Although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the inventive subject matter being defined by the following claims. 

1. An apparatus comprising: a housing; a first plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters in the housing; a second plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters in the housing; a first gas-insulated bus assembly in the housing, coupled to the first plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters; a second gas-insulated bus assembly in the housing, coupled to the second plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters; and at least one connector configured to interconnect the first gas-insulated bus assembly and the second gas-insulated bus assembly.
 2. (canceled)
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first gas-insulated bus assembly is disposed in a first gas containment compartment; wherein the second gas-insulated bus assembly is disposed in a second gas containment compartment; wherein the at least one connector comprises at least one first sealed connector at a wall of the first gas containment compartment and at least one second sealed connector at a wall of the second gas containment compartment; and wherein the at least one first sealed connector and the at least one second sealed connector are configured to be coupled via at least one coupling plug.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters is disposed in the first gas containment compartment and wherein the second plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters is disposed in the second gas containment compartment.
 5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters is disposed in a third gas containment compartment and wherein the second plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters is disposed in a fourth gas containment compartment.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second gas-insulated bus assemblies are disposed between the first and second pluralities of gas-insulated circuit interrupters.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the first plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters is disposed above the second plurality of gas-insulated circuit interrupters in the housing.
 8. An apparatus comprising: a housing; a first gas containment compartment in the housing; a first plurality of sealed connectors at a wall of the first gas containment compartment; a second gas containment compartment in the housing adjacent the first gas containment compartment and having a wall confronting the wall of the first gas containment compartment; a second plurality of sealed connectors at the wall of the second gas containment compartment and configured to be pluggably connected to the first plurality of sealed connectors; a first circuit interrupter assembly in the housing; a second circuit interrupter assembly in the housing; a first bus assembly in the first gas containment compartment coupling the first circuit interrupter assembly to the first plurality of sealed connectors; and a second bus assembly in the second gas containment compartment and coupling the second circuit interrupter assembly to the second plurality of sealed connectors, wherein the first and second bus assemblies are further configured to be separately coupled to respective first and second sources or loads.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a plurality of coupling plugs coupling respective pairs of the first and second pluralities of sealed connectors to one another.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first circuit interrupter assembly is disposed in the first gas containment compartment and wherein the second circuit interrupter assembly is disposed in the second gas containment compartment.
 11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first circuit interrupter assembly is disposed in a third gas containment compartment in the housing and wherein the second circuit interrupter is disposed in a fourth gas containment compartment in the housing.
 12. (canceled)
 13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first gas containment compartment is disposed above the second gas containment compartment.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first and second bus assemblies are disposed between the first and second circuit interrupter assemblies.
 15. An apparatus comprising: a housing; a gas-insulated switchgear module disposed in the housing and including at least one electrical component; a first gas-insulated bus module coupled to the gas-insulated switchgear module; and a second gas-insulated bus module coupled to the first bus module.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first gas-insulated bus module is configured to be coupled to a first source or load and wherein the second gas-insulated bus module is configured to be coupled to a second source or load.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first and second gas-insulated bus modules are coupled via at least one sealed connector.
 18. (canceled)
 19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first and second gas-insulated bus modules support parallel bus connection to the gas-insulated switchgear module. 